Fallen
by flirtyalphonse
Summary: Where were you when the dead rose and humanity fell? Five different people. Five different accounts of the beginning of the end of the world. A zombie AU; chapter 1: Katara.


**Fallen by Amphoterus  
Chapter 1: Katara**

Katara zipped up her jacket, pulling the hood over her head as the cool evening draft tried to send her hair flying in every direction. The woods were unusually quiet today except for the sounds of her footsteps. The wind also carried an unfamiliar sound of a groan, _'Either someone is severely injured or…'_ she didn't want to finish the thought.

Walking towards the sounds, the leaves crunched beneath her feet, the groaning eventually became louder than the sounds of her footsteps. Katara stopped walking as she reached the source of the sound: an abandoned water well. She took in a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her stomach and leaned forward to peer into the well.

Katara gasped, _'There's a little girl down there!' _she cupped the sides of her mouth with her hands to make her voice travel farther, "Hey! Can you hear me?"

The little girl didn't look up but only moaned in response.

"My name's Katara! I'm going to help you!" Katara's eyes glazed over the girl's discarded teddy bear at the bottom of the well. She took a moment to take in the girl's appearance. Her dress was torn at the hem, she had dirt stuck underneath her fingernails, and there were obvious specks of dried blood on her clothing, _'How long has she been stuck down there?'_ Katara wondered.

She noticed the well had an old pulley system. If she let go of the rope, the bucket would be lowered into the well, fill with water, and she could pull it back up with the rope again. Katara inspected the cord to make sure it was sturdy enough, _'This must be ancient, but it's worth a shot!' _

"Grab onto this rope and I'll pull you up!" she shouted, choosing to lower the rope slowly into the well since the pulley creaked.

The little girl finally looked up and snarled, teeth completely exposed to Katara. Her heart began to race at the sudden change in girl's demeanor, "It's okay! I'm just trying to help you," she called out.

The girl snarled again and made a grab for the rope which was suspended just a few inches out of her reach. Katara gasped in shock, finally noticing the rest of the girl's appearance. Her eyes were glazed over and she had dried specks of blood around her mouth.

"I-I'm coming down there to help you," Katara spoke as evenly as she could. She swung one leg over the well's stone structure, making sure she had a firm grasp on the surrounding rocks, _'I've rock climbed before! I can do this!'_ Taking her time, she used the remaining sunlight above her head to guide her descent. With each step Katara took, she could hear the girl growling, snarling, and clawing at the rocks below.

Katara felt claustrophobic making her way down the dim well. She decided to side-step on a protruding rock and flatten her body against the wall to let more sunlight through. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes scanned the girl noticing her deathly pale flesh. She was attempting to reach up to Katara, _'Why is she acting like that?'_ she thought as the girl continued to growl,_ 'M-maybe I shouldn't be doing this alone?'_

"I'll get you help, I'll be right back!" Katara yelled and pushed herself up, reaching for the next rock to hold onto. The rocks supporting her feet gave way and, for a split second, Katara could not believe what happened next: she fell! The girl took the opportunity to grab onto Katara's left shoe and began to _bite_ into it.

Katara yelped trying to keep a firm grasp with her hands and digging her right shoe into the structure as much as the stones would allow, "What are you doing?" she screeched, "Get off of me!" she kicked her left leg frantically, struggling to make the girl let go. Tears began to well up in her eyes knowing that her grip was slipping.

Katara craned her neck reaching for the rope with her left hand, trying not to lose her balance. She immediately pulled her arm back to hold onto the rocks and did the only thing she could think of at that moment. She kicked her left leg against the stone causing the girl's head to collide with the structure.

With her leg free, Katara used her body weight to push off of the rocks, towards the rope. Her heart rate sped up as she seized it and held on, hoping to regain some of her balance as the rope swung back and forth. She could feel her heart beating wildly against her chest and her arms were beginning to hurt from holding on so tightly.

She grunted as she climbed up the rope, still hearing the girl snarling below her, trying to grab her again. Finally reaching the top, Katara pulled herself over the well, collapsing on the dirt. Panting a little, she looked back into the well. The girl was looking up at Katara, snarling, with her teeth exposed again.

Katara backed away, _'Could it be…?'_ she felt a knot forming in her stomach as realization dawned upon on her about the little girl,_ 'I need to get away from here!' _she wasn't sure if she was referring to just the water well or the whole area.

Katara broke into a sprint. After a while, she could no longer hear the little girl's moans as she ran towards her family's cabin.


End file.
